Cycling in Sydney Australia
Stolen bicycle - November 18 - Happy ending!
Grrr! My road bicycle, a Trek 1.2, was stolen today from the bike rack on Trafalgar St Stanmore, outside Stanmore station.
The proprietor of the take away food store says an "old man" approached him and said he had lost the key to the bike. He then produced a hammer and smashed the lock and stole the bike.
I park there a fair bit and have long felt it is safe, given the shops and foot traffic from the station. I'd also been comforted by the regular presence of an Apollo road bike with TT bars. If that can stay there all day, I reckoned, I should be safe.
Anyway ... the police have been informed and all that.
In the meantime, if you see or are offered to buy a Trek 1.2, do drop me a line to simon at jargonmaster dotcom.
The bike has a 61cm frame and is black with red trim.The front tyre is a red Maxxis. The rear is a grey Bontrager. There's a black Bontrager bidon cage.
The proprietor of the take away food store says an "old man" approached him and said he had lost the key to the bike. He then produced a hammer and smashed the lock and stole the bike.
I park there a fair bit and have long felt it is safe, given the shops and foot traffic from the station. I'd also been comforted by the regular presence of an Apollo road bike with TT bars. If that can stay there all day, I reckoned, I should be safe.
Anyway ... the police have been informed and all that.
In the meantime, if you see or are offered to buy a Trek 1.2, do drop me a line to simon at jargonmaster dotcom.
The bike has a 61cm frame and is black with red trim.The front tyre is a red Maxxis. The rear is a grey Bontrager. There's a black Bontrager bidon cage.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tony Ascenso on -
Agree, who would have thought that ballet was good for anything? :-)
That's great news, Simon. I'm all for the donation to the Amy Gillett foundation. Rgds. Tony.
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Permalink Reply by MadameBike on -
Damian,
Please forward my PayPal contribution to the Amy Gillett foundation. No probs.
Congratulations Simon. Yes, I would like to know too - did they get ID from the seller? If you have a 2nd hand license don't you have certain obligations legally to get that sort of info?
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Permalink Reply by Peter H on -
Damian. I'd like my $10 to go to the foundation also. Either that or give it to Simon so he can get a good bike lock :)
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Permalink Reply by Lzzter on -
It's just fantastic that Simon has found his bike. I'm very pleased to hear.
Pardon my ignorance, but what is an 'LBS'?
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Permalink Reply by Kim on -
LBS - 'little bike shop' not to be confused with LBD- little black dress.
While we are at it what the hell does SUP stand for? I see it mentioned when people talk about bike paths and I'll be damned if I can figure out what it means.
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Permalink Reply by Lzzter on
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Ah, Little Bike Shop. Thanks, Kim.
I think SUP is Shared User Path.
I'd like to know what bike shop it was. It seems to me there should be more checks and balances with the sale of second hand bicycles. Maybe a code-of-conduct should be developed among second hand bike shops, where the seller shows some photo-ID.
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Permalink Reply by Neil Alexander on -
Actually, we think that should be local bike shop, not to be confused with local black dress.
SUP stands for "seriously unnecessary project".
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Permalink Reply by MadameBike on
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Seriously though, Kim, SUP does stand for Shared User Path and there is rarely such a thing as a "Bike Path". Such paths cost a lot to construct so the body that constructs them (usually local government) makes SUPs to spread the cost across more beneficiaries - cyclists, walkers, joggers, pram pushers and dogs (or "fluffy speed humps" as a friend of mine calls the latter - maybe they should be FSH's).
There are often speed limits for bicycles on SUPs. I know in SOP (Sydney Olympic Park) the bike speed limit is 20 kph - regularly exceeded, in my observation.
Also, legally a cyclist riding on a SUP must always give way to everyone else, no matter how unpredictably the other party is moving. So, for example, if you are riding on a SUP and you swerve to miss a wayward dog and collide with a pedestrian, you will be "in the wrong" and can be charged under the law.
Hope that helps. :-)
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Permalink Reply by Bennelong Bicyclist on -
MadameBike wrote: "So, for example, if you are riding on a SUP and you swerve to miss a wayward dog and collide with a pedestrian, you will be "in the wrong" and can be charged under the law."
That's why it is important to have accident insurance as provided by membership of Bicycle NSW or similar organisations - in case the pedestrian seeks compensation.
Which regulations under which Acts cover SUPs, I wonder? Is it the normal road rules?
Of course, if the dog is not on a leash as required by the Companion Animal Act (see http://www.dlg.nsw.gov.au/dlghome/dlg_InformationIndex.asp?areainde... ), the dog owner can be fined, and if it causes you to crash, then you can sue the pants off the dog owner - facts that I regularly communicate to owners of unleashed dogs on the Gore Hill Expressway/Naremburn SUPs.
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Permalink Reply by MadameBike on
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Hi Bennelong B., The rules are defined in the Australian Road Rules, 2008.
As regards the NSW Police, I am not sure how they know what to charge someone but I did hear of a cyclist accidentally hitting a woman who couldn't hear his warning calls that he was approaching. When she realised he was coming from behind her she jumped - but the wrong way, right into his path. He collided with her but neither party was injured significantly. However, she insisted he wait until the Police arrive, he did, and was fined $44.
It must be written down somewhere.
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Permalink Reply by Paul on -
see that under the Australia Road Rules, it is actually Pedestrians in the wrong if they are on the part of the path designated for Bicycles.
This is the specific rule.
However, this rule then goes on to contradict the previous one, as it says that Bicycles must give way to pedestrians on Shared Paths. Now I am confused!
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Permalink Reply by Bob Moore on -
Companion Act says
If your dog is in a public place it must be under the
effective control of a competent person by means of an
adequate chain, cord or leash. The exceptions to this are:
dogs exhibited at a show or engaging in obedience or
agility trials or a dog secured in a cage or vehicle or in an
approved off-leash area;
If your dog is being exercised in an approved off-leash area
it must always be under effective control of a competent
person;
Very open to what is "under effective control" on a path. City of Sydney Council has included SUpaths in Bicentennial Park, Glebe, and around Blackwattle Bay in the off leash area, so dogs are everywhere along the path, hiding behind low walls and shrubs etc and darting in front of cyclists. Have heard of a few accidents and plenty of near misses and altercations. Turning what should be a great cycleroute into a minefield.
As far as I know you dont have to give way to dogs but if you hit one you will probably fall off. I think dogs should be on a leash on a path, shared or not, and close at heel.
The Australian Road Rules cover SUPs in a road reserve, but in paths on a Council park local Council regulations apply. Things like riding bikes in a park are allowed if not expressly forbidden.
As well as ARR 250 about cyclists giving way, rule 236 says pedestrians "should not unreasonably obstruct drivers". Drivers includes cyclists, so I take it that cyclists do have some rights on a SUP. Rule 251 says cyclists should keep left on a path.
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